PECASE: Mechanically Robust Micromechanisms

该CAREER项目采用以机械坚固的三维机构开发为中心的综合研究和教育战略。通过利用硅基制造的最新发展，一种新的方法来并行制造的机械鲁棒空间微机构已成为可行的。这种微机构，尺寸范围从几微米到几毫米，是唯一能够耦合宏观尺度的力量和干扰，以精确的微观尺度的运动。这一努力代表了一个综合的研究和教育战略，围绕着机械鲁棒硅微机械的发展。这项工作的研究部分侧重于发展硅微机械制造中涉及的制造和设计问题的基本理解。新的MEMS加工技术将被用来研究硅微机械的设计、电路集成、微驱动和封装。系统级的问题将得到解决，包括超大规模集成电路和MEMS集成使用聚焦离子束制造，供电和传感技术，片上热微致动，片上反馈位置控制，以及制造设备的包装。这项工作的教育部分将联合收割机结合研究为基础的教育与工业推广计划。具体任务包括本科和研究生阶段的MEMS课程，一个关于微细加工的工业短期课程，以及一个多用户的微机械铸造服务。 空间硅微机械支撑技术的发展代表了MEMS领域的一个重大进展。具有六个自由度的微机构在该技术中是可行的，与传统设备相比，可以大大扩展设计空间。潜在的应用包括微型机器人、高精度医疗工具和用于微规模制造的大位移致动器阵列。该研究有望扩展MEMS的设计空间，并为微机械设计和制造技术的发展做出贡献。

This CAREER project adopts an integrated research and education strategy centered on the development of mechanically robust three-dimensional mechanisms. By taking advantage of recent developments in silicon-based fabrication, a new approach to the parallel manufacture of mechanically robust spatial micromechanisms has become feasible. Such micromechanisms, with dimensions ranging from several microns to several millimeters, are uniquely capable of coupling macro-scale forces and disturbances to precise micro-scale motions. This effort represents an integrated research and education strategy centered around the development of mechanically robust silicon micromechanisms. The research component of this work focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the manufacturing and design issues involved in silicon micromechanism fabrication. Novel MEMS processing techniques will be employed to study the design, circuit integration, microactuation, and packaging of silicon micromechanisms. Systems-level issues will be addressed, including VLSI and MEMS integration using focused ion beam manufacturing, powering and sensing techniques, on-chip thermal microactuation, on-chip feedback position control, and packaging of fabricated devices. The educational component of this work will combine research-based education with an industrial outreach program. Specific tasks include undergraduate and graduate-level MEMS courses, an industrial short course on microfabrication, and a multi-user micromechanism foundry service. The development of supporting technologies for spatial silicon micromechanisms represents a significant advance in the field of MEMS. Micromechanisms with six degrees-of-freedom are feasible in the technology, allowing for a greatly extended design space compared to traditional devices. Potential applications include miniature robotics, high-precision medical tools, and arrays of large-displacement actuators for micro-scale manufacturing. The research is expected to extend the current design space for MEMS, and to contribute fundamental advances to micromechanism design and fabrication technology.